BJP MP for Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Surya, has tagged the Rs 18,500 cr Tunnel Road project as “deadweight” on the Silicon Valley of India, adding that it is “designed for the elite 10 per cent” and not the “common man”.
In a fiery post on X (formerly Twitter), he jotted down things that need fixing in the “city” and has come down heavily on Karnataka CM and Deputy CM.
Say no to Tunnel Road: Tejasvi Surya
“The Rs 18,500 Cr Tunnel Road is a deadweight on Bengaluru, designed not for the common man, but for the elite 10% who own private cars,” Surya wrote on X.
He added, “What the city actually needs: 16,580 BMTC buses by 2031. We have just 6,800. 317 km Metro by 2031. Only 78 km operational today.”
In the next line, Surya shed light on how the yellow line of the metro has been completed for four years now, but it is yet to open for the public, before revealing that the city also has “over 20 stalled flyovers and road projects”.
“Instead of fixing these gaps, CM Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar are pushing a vanity project that serves the few, not the many.”
He completed his post with the hashtag “SayNoToTunnelRoad”.
DPR is a copy-paste work
Surya, in a press conference, has also raised doubts about the credibility of the Tunnel Road project’s feasibility study and Detailed Project Report (DPR).
He pointed out that the 9.5 crore DPR mentions traffic data from cities like Malegaon and Nashik, both of which are nowhere close to Bengaluru, suggesting that the report may have been copied from a previous BMRCL DPR that cost Rs 1.6 crore.
One of the firms behind the study, part of a joint venture between Lion Consultants and Altinok, has been blacklisted in MP over issues related to a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project, Surya said. It has been learnt that Rodic Consultants, who prepared the DPR, were also reportedly linked to a Rs 500 crore scam in Jammu & Kashmir.
Surya also claimed that the project breaches Section 19 of the BMLTA Act, as it has not received the mandatory departmental clearance.
Bengaluru Tunnel Road: Sridhar Vembu weighs in
Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu backed Surya on the Bengaluru Tunnel Road project and compared India with one of the most advanced economies in the world – Singapore. He highlighted that the entire city runs on public transport and suggested India do the same.
“I want to add that Singapore, one of the most advanced economies in the world and one of the most livable cities, relies extensively on public transport,” he wrote while quoting Surya.
Vembu added, “Singapore also limits the number of private cars through the mechanism of open market trading of Certificate of Entitlement (COE) needed to own a car, and the certificate costs more than Singapore $100K (and the car price is on top of that).”
“Indian cities are far more dense than Singapore. We have to build extensive public transport to make our cities livable. It can be done,” he further said.
I want to add that Singapore, one of the most advanced economies in the world and one of the most livable cities, relies extensively on public transport. Singapore also limits the number of private cars through the mechanism of open market trading of Certificate of Entitlement… https://t.co/ob7WjOiybJ
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) July 15, 2025
Vembu’s post sparked the India vs Singapore debate, with one X user asking, “Will it be acceptable to the Indian public if something like the Singapore model of private car ownership is implemented in India? Maybe the question to ask is, do our policy makers think about it in the first place?”
“Absolutely. Singapore = tech capitalism + socialist public goods + democratic livability. India’s dense cities demand systems-first design. Transport is our equity engine,” chimed in another
“Sridhar Sir, come to Delhi and I will show you how car manufacturers influence public policy on mass transport.
Every day, no less than 10,000 cars leave Delhi for Gurgaon, many of these drivers aiming to reach their Cyber City offices in time. There is a mad rush on the highway leading to the Millennium City. Imagine 10k cars idling for several minutes and emitting dangerous smoke in the Delhi skies,” said a third.
He further added, “So, you would ask- why isn’t there a direct Metro line from Delhi to Gggn? Exactly, and that’s my question too! Why don’t our babus and netas sanction a dedicated Metro line from, say, Janakpuri to Cyber City? We know the answer, don’t we?”
One social media user agreed with Vembu, “Yes, the top-down approach should be followed here. First, give great infrastructure, then people will automatically not buy private Vehicles.”
However, he had just one question: “Developing new infrastructure from Zero is easy or developing an already built infrastructure to a new infrastructure is easy?”
“People often mistake public infrastructure for bigger roads, bridges, etc. Actually, it’s about even pushing the elite to use public transport, through world-class public transport systems,” thinks yet another social media user.
About the project
Earlier in June, the Karnataka cabinet approved the construction of two major tunnel corridors in Bengaluru under the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model. The private developers will operate the toll roads for 30 years to recoup their investment.
Shivakumar said that the tenders for the same will be issued through newspaper notification within the next two to three days.
According to the DPR, the 16.6 km twin-tube tunnel between Hebbal and Silk Board Junction will carry a toll of Rs 330 per trip. The project’s total cost is pegged at around Rs 18,000 crore.